He hated people, Gaara thought bitterly as he pulled out his street shoes from his locker. They were loud, annoying, and judgmental. He sent an icy glare to a group of girls staring and gossiping about him only a few meters away. They abruptly stopped and scurried away. He had no doubt they would grow up to be those gossiping housewives one day. When he came to Japan he had thought they would have more class, but as any other country, they liked to gossip. Perhaps more as while they didn't give insults to his face, they liked to spread gossip quickly. Reputation was everything, and he and Uzumaki's reputation was as low as it could get.
"Hey!"
Gaara turned to the entrance where Uzumaki was waiting dressed in street clothes amongst the throng of students who looked at him disapprovingly. Inuzuka however was nowhere to be found. "Inuzuka?" he asked.
A smile pulled on Uzumaki's lips. "Contemplating whether its worth it to go to the clinic. Hana was pissed he missed school."
With a nod of understanding, Gaara fell silent as Uzumaki kept up a one-sided conversation on their way to the school gate. It was a comfortable moment as he went into a grand tale of the morning's events when Hana came home from her business trip. Even Gaara could not help the smile that kept inching on his face at Uzumaki's elaborate story with embellished details. Uzumaki's stories always put him at ease. He had a gift for words whenever he went into stories especially if you put a pen and paper in front of him.
Uzumaki trailed off when they neared the front gates, a frown on his face that morphed into a glare. It was no mystery as to why. At the gate, a teenager with mid-length, dark brown hair was waiting. His blazer was open, and his tie was pulled lose. He was handsome, and the center of attention of the girls around them. Upon seeing them, the teenager approached them, hands in his pockets. "Uzumaki. And here I believed we would be spared from seeing your face today."
"Hyuuga, Neji of Class 3-A," Uzumaki drawled, stressing the class number and gaining a glare from him. "What? Don't have first years to pick on? Or are you toning it down today and waiting for some little girls to make cry, you know, fights you can actually win."
"Very amusing, Uzumaki. At least I don't have a rabid bodyguard with me everywhere I go." His gaze shifted to Gaara. "Surely you can find better work? But then again, I guess psychopaths have to stick together."
The insult didn't faze Gaara in the slightest. He preferred the straightforward insults than the whispers and gossips from the other students. In addition, there was no hostility from Hyuuga. Gaara felt no malicious intent from him. However, what he lacked in hostility he made up for in hitting the right pressure points, a fitting analogy considering what clan Hyuuga belonged to. His words made Uzumaki's hackles rise. Uzumaki already going on the defensive.
"Back down, Hyuuga. I wouldn't want to make a fool of you in front of your handler," Uzumaki voice deepened, trying to contain his anger.
Hyuuga only spared a moment to see the black car that had just pulled up to the entrance, a driver waiting for him at the back passenger door. "And what will you do if I don't? Stab me? Make it look like an accident?"
Uzumaki visibly flinched then his features darkened. Gaara felt a flare of chakra from him, highly volatile. This happened every time.
Fortunately, Uzumaki didn't immediately lose his cool, walking up to Hyuuga slowly and purposefully. "Don't push what you can't handle, Hyuuga. You may be smart, but you are one stupid son of a bitch." Uzumaki didn't even raise his voice, relying on his own intimidating presence. He looked over Hyuuga once and snorted. "You shouldn't keep picking fights with people you're terrified of."
"Cautious," he corrected. "Any man would be cautious around a murderer."
Naruto's eyes flashed gold, and he pulled his fist back no longer caring he was still on school grounds.
"Uzumaki-san?"
The soft timid voice stopped Uzumaki in his tracks, whirling around to see a cute girl, and Hyuuga's cousin, Hyuuga, Hinata. The cousins looked strikingly similar except Hinata was slightly younger with softer features. Seeing her, Uzumaki dropped his fist and put on a tentative smile.
"Hinata-chan, going home?" His tone was forced, but the fight leaked out of him as he shoved his fists into his pockets.
She nodded, walking past him to the black car. She turned back, standing in front of the opened door with a notebook clenched in her hands. "I took notes for you… if you want them," she added unsure.
Uzumaki smiled genuinely at that. "Thanks, but Gaara already did that for me. Thanks for the cookies you made us though. Kiba really liked them."
The girl blushed, and Hyuuga rolled his eyes discreetly, going to the car as well. "Hinata, let's go," he spoke to her condescendingly.
Uzumaki bristled at that but bit his tongue, watching them get into the car. The driver closed the door after them, shooting a disapproving glance at Uzumaki and Gaara before getting into the drive's sear and driving away.
Gaara did sigh, quietly this time.
"I know. Rich people right?" Uzumaki commented, glaring at the car as it disappeared. "Come on, let's get some food."
They took the bus to downtown instead of Gaara's town car. It was nicer in Gaara's opinion, less suffocating. There were more exits, no seatbelt to limit his movements, and more windows to see the scenery pass by. Gaara watched the scenery as Uzumaki talked about something Tsunade and Jiraiya had done that Uzumaki claimed was unfair. As usual, Gaara just listened, not adding his opinion giving what he knew. Still, Uzumaki was more than happy to keep the conversation up by himself until the bus finally arrived at the ferry dock. The café was only a two-minute walk from there.
The café was not a maid café, much to Gaara's relief. It was small, well furnished, and had a quiet atmosphere. It was Gaara's type of place. The menu was diverse, and Uzumaki watched with amusement as Gaara's eyes brightened, scanning the long list of pastries that was offered. In the end, he only ordered a strawberry shortcake, a devil's food cake, a parfait, and a chocolate mocha latte.
The waitress was nervous around him, her small frame shaking when she took his order. Gaara didn't help when he ordered without an ounce of warmth and ordered so seriously one would think he was giving her no chances to mess up.
Uzumaki resisted laughing but was unable to hold back a grin. When the waitress turned to him for his order, he put her at ease with small compliments and jokes, dragging a smile out of her, until he finally ordered a coffee with a single cream and sugar.
When she left, Uzumaki looked at him shaking his head. "You could try smiling. People wouldn't be so afraid of you."
"I don't smile," Gaara responded, waiting for his order.
They sat in silence as they waited.
The waitress came back with their order, peering warily at Gaara every few seconds, afraid of messing up to the point her hands were shaking. Gaara didn't give her words of comfort, leaving Uzumaki to pick up the slack, picking up conversation once again. Gaara ignored the conversation, focusing on devouring his sweets, concentrating on each bite with great care.
"You're going to get diabetes one day," Uzumaki teased once the waitress left, taking a long sip from his cup when the waitress had left.
"I'll take my chances." Gaara placed the spoon for the parfait in the empty cup and pulled the cake closer, picking up the fork.
"If you say so." Uzumaki's phone beeped. Uzumaki read his message and sighed. "Looks like Jiraiya's back. He wants me to look over his new manuscript. Think you'll be okay on your own?"
"I'm sure I can find my way back," Gaara replied dryly, already halfway through his cake.
"Great. Send me a message when you make it back, 'kay?"
Uzumaki waited for a nod before placing some yen on the table, covering everything. Gaara looked at the money distastefully, holding his tongue until Uzumaki left the establishment. As he sipped from his drink, Gaara pocketed Uzumaki's money, planning to leave it in Uzumaki's house when he had the chance.
The waitress came back once to deliver the bill, alarmed when she realized Uzumaki had left. Luckily for her, she only had to slip the bill on the table and leave. As he started on his last dessert, conversation from the backroom drifted over to him. It was only snippets of the conversation. He was far away enough it wasn't clear, but he understood the gist of the conversation. Their opening week had not gone as well as they had hoped.
He placed the fork on the empty plate, pulling out his wallet, fishing out a wad of cash, hiding it under the edge of the plate. Taking the check to the front, he paid for the meal, and he left.
He was only halfway down the block when the waitress came out of the café, calling for him. He walked faster, pretending not to hear. He didn't need to turn around to know she had the money in her hand and was trying to return it. They should just take it and leave him alone.
He heard running, and he was losing his patience quickly with this waitress. Turning on his heel to tell her to just take it, it wasn't who he thought it was. The girl from the night before, still dressed in her middle school uniform with her school bag in her hands, stopped, her face red. The scent of the ocean still clung to her, indicating she had just stepped off the ferry only moments before and had probably seen him walk out of the café.
She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Losing her nerve, she darted in the opposite direction.
Narrowing his eyes at her retreating back, he pulled out his phone, pressing a number that was on speed dial. He waited several rings before he was greeted with the principal's gruff hello on the other end.
"Do you have a new transfer planned. A female middle schooler, year 3."
"Not that I'm aware of," Tsunade's voice replied. Her previously disinterested and vaguely annoyed voice was now alert. "Why?"
"I saved a girl last night. I think she saw me. She apparently took a ferry to the island and ran up to me just now. She was following me last night too. I wanted to make sure she wasn't one of yours before I take care of her."
"Leave it," she said. "Keep an eye out. Until then, I'll send someone to investigate. If she approaches again, see if you can figure out what she wants, but don't harm her. That's an order." She hung up.
It was easy for her to say things like that. Humans don't typically hunt down other humans, but if that girl did see him, she wouldn't think he was human. He probably wasn't anymore. The major problem was that he couldn't sense her presence and that could be dangerous. If she wasn't so loud, she could walk up behind him and stake him.
Due to that possibility, Gaara, didn't go home right away. Instead, he walked out of the town and into the mountains, following the road that went past many of the compounds for many clans that lived on the island. The road twisted, going up and down hill at a moments notice, making it a difficult walk for a normal human. There was also very little room to walk with the narrow mountain roads also making it very dangerous as a passing car had little room to avoid a pedestrian. It would be difficult for the girl to follow him.
The roads did give him nice scenery of the ocean and a chance to delay his return home. As he walked passed on of the compounds, the gate was opened, allowing a passerby to peer inside. Gaara planned to walk by, not paying it any mind, but the loud sound of a slap did make him pause to look inside.
Hyuuga was standing in front of the house, dressed in a gi and hakama. His head was bowed to an older man dressed in a yukata who had a frown etched onto his features. His hair was longer than Hyuuga's and free flowing, reaching his lower back. The older man shared identical features as well, but the scene in front of Gaara did not come across as a father/son relationship.
"You're a disappointment, Neji," the elder man said. Suddenly, the man's eyes snapped p to meet Gaara's. His frown deepened. "You are dismissed." The elder man turned around, heading back inside what looked to be a dojo.
Hyuuga stayed bowing several long moments after he had been dismissed. When he eventually straightened himself, Gaara could see the red, swollen, left cheek. The usually cocky, smug look he carried around at school was no longer apparent. In its place was a dead eyed look, fight completely drained out of him, his eyes resigned to some sort of fate.
Eventually, Hyuuga noticed him. Hyuuga immediately became defensive, straightening his back and puffing out his chest slightly, the fight returning to his being. Without saying a word, Gaara bowed his head to him in greeting then continued his walk up the mountain, feeling a tinge of empathy in his chest towards the scene he had witnessed.
However, it wasn't any of his business, so he pushed that feeling aside, continuing up the mountain.
It was passed midnight, but the town was far from being asleep. In fact, majority of the town's clan heads were gathered in one room underneath the school's gymnasium. The room was dimly lit where faces could barely be made out. It was a precaution in case someone infiltrated the meeting, but in the end, it was hard for unwanted people to enter. In the room, there was an assigned seat for each clan head, all attendants were supposed to wait outside. If there was someone who didn't belong, they would be noticed immediately.
Gaara slipped in, staying in the back of the room, nodding towards Tsunade who saw him enter. The meeting had already started, and he was late, irritating many of the clan heads who did not want him there to begin with.
"I'm opposed to allowing him to enter this island," the clan head of the Yamanaka family said. She was on the shorter side, her hair streaked with grey, but her voice carried strong and proud for someone her size. "His requests are mocking us, and where would he feed? You expect us to sit by as he prays on this island's inhabitants?"
"I agree. Whatever agreement he made with this town's founders should bear no consequence to us. We are hunters. To even entertain the notion of compromising with a vampire is a stain to our reputation."
"As would it hurt our reputation to break a contract besides, it's not that simple," Tsunade folded her hands. "Uchiha, Sasuke is a favorite of the Immortal Council, specifically Pein and Deidara, and if Deidara supports him, then Sasori will follow his lead. That's three of seven. Can we afford having almost half the council angry at us for breaking a valid contract?"
Murmurs went around the room. Gaara leaned against the wall, observing the side conversations.
"You did not answer the questions, Tsunade-san." The elder Danzo broke through the chatter with ease. His voice held condescension when he spoke to Tsunade, but not enough so to be called out on it. Everyone immediately stopped to listen. Being the eldest of the three elders who could override Tsunade's decision with a unanimous vote, most of the clan members respected him. "Where would he feed? We are on the menu, are we not?"
"Do you believe I would allow him to feed here?" Tsunade said, calmly. "He has agreed that he would not feed on the island. The only exception is if someone were to come onto his land without permission. He went even further to say that if we caught him feeding even outside the island we were free to try to kill him. He was eager enough to make concessions."
"His eagerness does make him suspicious. After over a century, he suddenly wants return? What motive does he have?" Jiraiya asked, sitting on Tsunade's left.
"He said he was hunting down a rogue vampire. An Uchiha, Itachi. I'm sure all of you have heard of him." A murmur when around the room. "The council wants him dead as well. That is where his other offer comes in," she paused as if she really didn't want to bring up the next point. "Deidara wishes to come to the island briefly to speak to us as well. He also wishes to support Uchiha to make sure we will abide by the contract. He has agreed to the following conditions if we agree: the first is that he and his people will only be on the island between the times of 12:00- 19:00. He will gain permission and take responsibility for each person she brings with her. No one will feed on the island's inhabitants nor the town in the mainland where our ferry docks. And lastly, should she or any of his people break the contract, he will take responsibility, allowing us to kill him without a fight and without his mate's or council's backlash. He was willing to go so far as to make a blood oath."
"And how long does Uchiha Sasuke plan to stay?" Someone asked, Gaara did not quite catch who.
"For as long as it takes," Tsunade responded.
"Uchiha Takeshi must really be wanted by the council to go so far as to offer so much even if it is by one member." Hyuuga Hiashi stood up from his seat. He was the man Gaara had seen earlier at the Hyuuga estate as well as the clan head. "If a blood oath will be taken, I will not object to the decision to allow them to come. There is more for us to gain then to lose. However, the moment they step out of line, I do expect you to take care of it, Tsunade-sama."
"Of course, Hyuuga-san."
Hiashi with his unimpressed face, walked out of the room, passing by Gaara without sparing him a glance.
"If there is no objection from the council, I will grant permission for his return. Any clan who has concerns, voice them now."
The next two hours was nothing but complaints. Gaara didn't have to stay. He wasn't a clan head, nor was any protest he may have had be heard should he voice them. He stayed because he wanted to hear where they stood, get an idea of what they were thinking. It was rare they would let him be close like this, so he used it to his advantage.
As the meeting came to an end, Gaara slipped out first, not wishing to hear their words or whispers directed towards him. School was bad enough, and his patience could only be tested so far.
His driver was waiting for him. After his walk earlier that day, he wasn't as resistant to the idea of being chauffeured as he usually was.
Gaara resisted the urge to rest his head on the window. Exhaustion had a hold on him just as always, but with his driver there, he didn't dare close his eyes or show weakness. He stared out the window, watching the scenery go by as they started to head back to downtown. He'd have to get up for a meeting at 6 am, and it was already 2 when he had left. Knowing he wasn't going to sleep that night, he looked over the messages on his phone with reluctance. Another 5 messages from his brother, adding to the long list of messages he had been avoiding.
One message was from Uzumaki, scolding him for forgetting to notify him that he got home safely. To be fair, he hadn't gone home so he hadn't broken his promise. He looked out the window. The road was following the road, following the edge of the island next to the ocean. There was nothing but darkness out there with the occasionally street light. So the single lantern on the rocky beach stood out. Seeing movement on the rocks in the water, Gaara ordered the driver to stop.
Confused, the driver didn't stop immediately, but a second command, more threatening than the first, had him slamming on the breaks. The rough stop didn't phase him. He stepped out of the care and jumped over the railing, working his way down to the beach, getting a closer look at the person out on the rocks. Gaara's footsteps were like, keeping the sound of treading on what was practically gravel to a minimum.
It wasn't the girl as he had thought. In hindsight, the figure was too big to have been her, but curiosity got the better of him. The closest clan's household was 3 kilometers away, and it was the middle of the night as well. So who would risk doing something so dangerous with just the light of the lantern to brighten the area.
Gaara's advanced sight allowed him to see well thanks to the light of the nearly full moon. Hyuuga was the last person he thought he would see. He was dressed in martial arts attire, soaked from the spray of the ocean, and barefoot. A slip would cut up his feet at best. At worst, he could fall, hit his head, and slip into the ocean. The danger didn't deter Hyuuga. He moved his feet with confidence, each step sure and grounded. He went through his martial arts routine, moving from stance to stance flawlessly, without fear. Chakra flowed from his hands in each strike. He probably couldn't see it. The way it came out in a trickle rather than with force as his marital arts intended it to as Gaara had seen from other family members.
Hyuuga was deep in concentration, and rather than startle him, Gaara sat to watch. Hyuuga was talented. His form was near perfect, and even Gaara thought his talent was being put to waste. His martial arts was fluid with precise strikes, trademarks of the Hyuuga clan's fighting style. It was aggressive, and though he showed signs of impatience and he struck with more force than necessary, he didn't let his emotions taint his form.
Being who he was, Gaara had never seen the Hyuuga clan's technique so close and clearly before. Even if it was just the foundation, Gaara committed it to memory for later to dissect for future reference.
Hyuuga kept it up until the sun began to rise and the water had started to reach his feet due to high tide. When he stopped, he was soaked, shivering, and breathing hard from the exertion. Gaara hadn't moved a muscle the entire time. The hypnotic movements and sounds of the ocean beating against the rocks had calmed Gaara's mind. There were no humans around to be wary of and no walls to make him anxious. Just the outside, silence, and a single human he could focus on.
As such, Gaara wasn't eager to move, and Hyuuga spotted him as soon as he turned around to walk back to the gravel beach. Hyuuga was startled then quickly threw a glare at him. "Taken to stalking me now?"
"I happened to drive by." Gaara replied.
"Where's you master and his pet you are supposed to be guarding?" Hyuuga snapped, slipping on his shoes.
Gaara dismissed the hostility. Hyuuga was hard to take seriously when his teeth were chattering and his lips were tinged blue. "Uzumaki can protect himself. What he lacks in finesse, he makes up in unpredictability. Isn't that why you never pick a physical fight with him?"
"I refuse to lower myself to his level is all." As haughty as that sentence was, it was cold and said more as a throw a way line, pulling out a sweatshirt from his bag and slipping on his shoes.
Gaara watched him with vague interest. Hyuuga had everything in that bag. He had spotted the blazer of their school uniform, and his textbooks were in the outline of books was pressing against the fabric of the bag. Hyuuga had planned to stay out all night to begin with and probably all of Sunday as well. "Was that man your uncle before?" Gaara asked.
Hyuuga went unnaturally still. "That's none of your business," he replied tightly, but didn't deny it.
"The hostility isn't needed, Hyuuga. Unlike Uzumaki, I don't pick fights unless I plan to kill."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. Fighting someone who only finds trouble to lash out won't help."
Various emotions flashed across Hyuuga's normally cool and collected face, struggling to decide what emotion he wanted to focus on first. "What would you know about lashing out? You may stab people and hurt them, but its more on a whim. You don't show any emotion other than annoyance, like it's a hassle to get angry or sad or frustrated. What would someone like you, the son of a politician, someone who has everything know about lashing out?"
Gaara looked past Hyuuga at the ocean and the sunrise. "Everyone has scars. Some have more than others. Don't assume you know me." Inhaling the ocean air one last time, he stood, not bothering to brush the dirt and small rocks from his clothes.
"Wait," the soft request barely made it to Gaara's ears. Hyuuga seemed to have been taken by surprise as well.
Gaara stopped, waiting for Hyuuga to collect himself. Finally, Hyuuga asked, "Do you ever sometime wonder… if your existence is worth keeping?" Vulnerability slipped into Hyuuga's voice. Immediately, Gaara could see Hyuuga cursing himself internally for asking the question, regretting his choice to ask.
"All the time."
Hyuuga's eyes snapped up to meet Gaara's in surprise.
Gaara didn't wait for him to say anything after that. His driver was still waiting on the road for his return. He had kept him waiting long enough.
